Coin-actuated vending-machine



(No Model.) 'ISheets-Sheet 1. F. FOOTE.

00m AGTUATED VENDING MACHINE. No. 496,730. Patented May 2, 1893.

I I i p awvehto'c UM 651%: $1513 a/lt toznm (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

- IE. POOTE.

00m AGTUATED VENDING/MACHINE. v No. 496,730. Patented May 2, 1893.

mvewtoz 6% 351 641301-4404 (No Model.) 7 sheets-sheen 6.

P. FOOTE.

COIN AOTUATED VENDING MACHINE.

No. 496,730. I Patented May 2, 1893.

Witmeooeo (No, Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

F.FO0TE. COIN AGTUATED VENDING MACHINE. 1

N0..496,730. Patented Ma a, 1893.

qwH M-eoo co PATENT QFFICE.

UNITED STATES- FRANK FOOTE, or MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT.

COlN-ACTUATED VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 4f730datedMay 2, 1 893.

Application filed December 17, 1892. Serial No.455,527. on model.)

London county, Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin- Alctuated Vending-Machines, which improvements are fully set forth and described in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying seven sheets ofdrawings.

This invention is in coin actuated machines for vending cigars and has for its object to provide a mechanism of comparatively simple construction by means of which cigars may be automatically sold 4 directly from the box in which they are originally packed and stamped as at this time required by the United States revenue laws.

The drawings hereto annexed assist materially in explaining my invention, Figure 1 being a front elevation of a coin actuated vending machine embodying saidinvention and'Fig. 2 a side view of the same with its casing partly cut away to expose the path followed by the coin in its passage through the machine. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of said machine and Fig. at is a central, vertical sectional view'of the same as if out from front to rear, showing the delivery drawer open to deliver a;single cigar. In Fig. 5 I have illustrated detached from the casing of the machine said delivery drawer and the belt-by means of which the cigars are transferred, one at a thine, from the hopper'to the said drawer. Fig. 5 is a detached view of a pawl carried by said drawer and employed to move said belt ashereinafter explained. Fig.

. 6 is a plan view of said belt mounted upon itssppporting frame, which latter is shown in plari;"detached in Fig. '7. Fig. 8 is an inner face view of one of the side casings of my machine and Fig. 9 is a view similar to 4, with the delivery drawer closed, illustrating the manner of unloading a box of cigars into the machine.

assist in guiding the cigars in proper direction as they pass downward into the machine. Figs. 11 and 12 are, respectivelyftgp and bottom'views of the delivery drawer, -its pawls for moving the belt shown in Fig. 5 and cermachine.

Fig. shows plan and end views of one of two rollers provided to as having passed downward upon the latch that holds the delivery drawer and as having been pressed down to release said latch. In Fig. 16 are shown top and side views of the escutoheon and slct'through which the coin is dropped, and of the pendent rodor wire by means of which said coin is forced down upon the drawer latch to release the latter. Figs. 17- and 18 are views similar to'Figs. 14: and but showa slightlydifferent form of slot by means of which a multiple of coins may be employed instead of asingle one, as in the preceding figures.

My invention may be brieflydescribed as a boxhaving a hopper in which ma'y'beplaced an ordinary cigar bpx, and having also mech{ anism by means of which a single cigar may be deposited in the spring actuated drawer, which drawer may be unlocked only by dropping a coin of given size into a slot in said To produce these results, various novel mechanisms have been provided and combined, as I will explain indetail.

Referring to the drawings 20 and 21 denote the sides of the casing of my machine made preferably of metal and connected at top and bottom (both at the f ron tand rear) by cross bars 22-23. Thei-nner confronting faces of the sides 202l, as here shown,'are formed with grooves 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 28', 29 and 30, each of said grooves being provided for an important'purpose. Groove 24: is made to receive a plate 31 upon which the cigar box rests when first placed in or over the hopper of the machine as illustrated by Fig. 9 in which 32 indicates the cigar box and 33 the bottom of said box.

Before placing the cigar box in the vending machine the cover of said box is loosened so that it maybe readily removed and the box is then inverted and placed in the upper end or hopper of the machine, with the loosened cover (which then becomes the bottom of the box) resting upon the plate 31 which latter may be provided upon its upper face with one or more small pins 34 which readily enter the box cover when" the latter is pressed down upon them.

When the plate 31 is drawn out "from its I grooves 24 it carries with it the box cover (see Fig. 9) thus opening the lower portion of the box and permitting the cigars to fall upon an endless beltor chain 35 which is mounted upon rollers 36 supported in a frame 37 that is supported in theslotsifi. Belt 35 is formed with a number of cross bars S8locatedatsuch distances apart that a cigar may easily drop between them (see Fig. 4). At each end of the machine is a roller 39 supported in a frame work 40 thatis of proper size to slip easily -into the slots and so located that the rollers 39' are immediately over the rollers 36 upon which the belt is mounted. he rollers -serve to prevent more than one cigar-from passing downward around the end of said belt and also serve (by rolling and agitating the cigars in the hopper) to cause the cigars to feed downward upon the belt as the latter" moves forward to deposit a cigar in the delivery drawer. As the beltis moved forward it gives a rotary movement to the lower row of cigars and these in turn impart a similar movement to. nearly all the cigarsin the hopper, as well as to the rollers-J9, thus disturbing the entire lot of cigars and insuring their dropping upon the belt to take the places of those carried by said belt to the delivery drawer Said drawer is about onehalf the length of the complete vending machine and slides in the grooves 27. A diagonalpartition '41 near the outer end of the drawer 40' provides a long narrow chamber 42 of suitable size to receive a cigar and one of the end walls of said chamber is cut through to provide an opening 43 through which the cigar may be slid endwise. \Vhen the-drawer is closed the partition 41'lies beneath the front belt roller 36 in such position that a cigar carried around with said belt will certainly drop into the chamber 4 2. Pivoted to each side of drawer 40 is a pawl 44 whose free end extends rearward and is adapted to en gage successively the cross bars 38 of the belt as the drawer 40' is closed after each delivery of a cigar, to move the belt forward a distance equal to the movement of the drawer, and thus carry another cigar along to a point where itmay drop into chamber 42 just as the drawer, is closed. A suitable spring 44' should be provided to hold the free ends of the 'pawls 44 in engagement with the cross bars 38. This spring may consist of a thin fiat piece of flexible material secured at its central portion to the bottom of the drawer, and having itsfree ends projecting over the free ends of the pawls. Drawcr40 is forced outward by a peculiarly formed spring 45 best illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 of thedrawings. This spring is formed of a singlepiece of wire secured near its middle portion to a plate 46 that is slid into the grooves 28 from the rear end of the machine. Said wire is then bent to cross itself as in Fig. 12 and its ends are attached to the rear wall of the delivery drawer. This spring, in its efforts to expand, seeks constantly to force said drawer outward but ordinarily said drawer is locked ward into said pathway.

plate 46.

attached to its side and unich hooks underthe end of a piece 47 secured to the side casing 21 (see Figs. 2 14, 15, 17 and 18). This spring latch 40lics in apathway 48 formed in saidside casing, through which the coin passes on its way downward to a drawer 4.) that slides in the grooves 29'. The entrance to said pathway is preferably over the spring latch but said path deflects from a right line, being shown here as curved, so that after the coin has been deposited therein it cannot readily be fished out again, neither can wires or similar implements be inserted for the purpose of surreptitiously unlocking the delivery drawer.

At the entrance to the pathway lS is a plate 50 of metal, having a slit just large enough to receive the coin and allow it to passdown- The plate 50 has a depending wire 51 that is of such length that its lower .end will just allow the coin to enter between it and the spring latch 46'. So soon as .the coin has rolled down upon the latch, the slotted plate 50 is pressed downward when the wire 51 pressing'upon the coin causes the latter to push the latch downward (see Fig. 15) thus releasing its end from engagement with the piece 47 and allowing the spring 45 to force the delivery drawer open. Said drawer is limited in its outward movement by a wire link 52 that is secured by a screw 53 to the Said link straddles a pin 54 in the delivery drawer as best seen in Figs. 11. and

2 and when said drawer is forced open this pin serves as a stop when engaged by the'bend at the end'of the link.

- Within the vertical grooves 29 at the front end of the machine, I slide a plate 55 which, it should be noticed, passes downward behind the front frame 40 and thus prevents said frame and its rollers 39 from leaving its slots 25.

Within the vertical grooves 30 at the re'ar of the machine I slide a plate 56 that serves to lock the rear frame 40 and its roller in place and also prevents the removal or displacement of the plate 46 to which the spring 45 is secured.

Many of. the details of construction of my described machine could be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention,

but the construction as illust ated and explained is practical and the parts easily assembled and I therefore prefer it.

In Figs. 17 and 18 I have illustrated a modification of my invention in which several coins are required in the pathway 48 in order to unlock and release the delivery drawer. In these drawings the coin pathway provides a longer space between the push-pin 51 and the latch 46, the length of said space being determined by the number of coins which it is desired to use.

By way of further explanation let us as sume that it is desired to vend cigars at fifteen cents each. In such case space is pro-..

' -beforced outward byits actuating.- spring.-

the pawlsi again move the belt forward to drop another cigar. The coin after having re-f' leased the latch,passes.downward through the cigar- .box; when withdrawn fort the purpose shown, to fill the ward the interposed 'coinsfassist in releasing inal, plumb, position, said hingedend then 38 (see Fig. 4): the drawer 4-0 is then pushed to drop into thecompartment 42 just as the box, a belt with-cross-bars and spaces 'aslseti :ingan open top vided for three nickels, or five cent piecesas shown in Figs. 17 and 18, these three being sufiicient, when piled upon each other as pathway between the latch 46 (upon which they rest) and the pendent. pin 51 so that when saidpin is pressed downthe latch.

In Figs. 17 and 18 the pendentpin 51 is provided at its lower end with a loosely hinged extension 51' which, when the coins pass downward in the pathway is pushed by said coins aside and then swings back into aplumb position as the coins pass. After the coins pass and the hinged end returns-to .itsnorserves as a stop to preventthe coins from be-. ing surreptitiouslywithdrawn from said slot My machine as a whole is quite simple but performs its wot-l; equally as'well as many machines of more complicated construction. The operation of said vending machine. is as follows:-A box of cigars is first opened and after being inverted is placed in the open top of the-machine, testing upon the plate 31 which latter is r then withdrawn (see Fig. 9) permitting the cigars to drop upon the belt 35 and filLthe spaces between the cross-bars inward causing the pawls 44 to engage oneof the cross-bars 38 and thus move the belt forward at distance sufiicient' to carry a cigar around the front end of the belt and cause it drawerreaches its closed position. When it 1s desired to deliver a cigar a coinisd-ropped 5,0 is then pressed downward, when its depending wire- 51- (or if 'preferredan interposed spring 57), acting through the coin, releases; the latch and allows *the delivery drawer to After the cigar has been removed from the chamber42 the draweris pushed in again and.

pathwayinto the lower or nioney draw'eretl. i Having described; my invention, I cl a-im ff v 1. lnacoin vending' machine, in com'biria tion,a' case having an open'topada'pted to re- 7 ceive a cigar box andto serve as thehepperfof' said machine, and coin actuated mechanism, located beneath said hopper and a removable plateabove the hopper said platellein-g. adapted'to engage with'and "re move the cover of the specified I I :2. In combinatien in'a-nd with-a cast 11g h ing anope'ntop adapted to receive a cigar;

forth, forming the hottomwallof said hopper,

and rollers 39 at each endof said hopper'substantially as and for the purpose specified; '3. In combination in and'with'a casing havbox, and having grooves 24i'near the bottom of said opening, a plate 31 ,withinsaid grooves, anda' belt with cross-bars located beneath said plate, adapted to receive the contents of the bolt when its cover and plate 31 are withdrawn, as specified.

4. In combination in and with a casinghaving an open top, and grooved sides and a belt, with cross-bars, forming thebottom wall .of said opening, a cigar boxremovably sup-- portedwithin said opening, a drawer in a portion of the grooves of; the casing, a plate in the other grooves at the rear of the drawer a "spring secured to the-plate for forcing the drawer out of the-casing, and means for preventing theremoval of the plate, substantially as and for the object specified.

5. In combination in and witha casing havforth, a removable frame 37 located in said grooves,roll,ers in said frame a belt (with cross-bars) mounted upon said rollers, and means for ipreventing the removal--of the frame from the grooves substantially as andfor the purpose specified.

6.' The combination with a casing, of a belt having cross-bars as set forth, a sliding drawer having a compartment-42 whichcompartment, when the drawer is closed', is beneath the de= livery end of said belt, ail'atch for holding said drawer closed and a spring engaging said drawer in manner substantially as described and acting with "a constant-tendency to force it (the drawer)' open, said springbeingformed of a singlepiece of wire, and permanently and bearing against the end of the drawer.-

The combination with a casing of a belt having cross-bars as set forth, a drawer 10- provided with'a pi'n a spring engaging said 'drawerwith a constant-tendency to force the same open, and a stop 52 for limiting the outfward motjelnent of said drawer for the-gurpose specified, said stop consisting of a link, one end of which is permanently secured within the casi-ngand the other end, engages '-'wi't h the pin on the drawer.-

" In combinationwijth a'belt having cross- ;bars 'as;set forth,"and adrawer located heneath the delivery end ofsaid belt, pawls 44 secured to 'saiddrawer with their free ends adapted to engage successively the said crossbars as the drawer is? opened and closed, a spring secured at its central portion to-the. drawer and. having its free ends projecting over the free ends of the p'awls for holding said pa'wls inoperative engagementwith-the cross'-bars, and a stopr52, substantially as de-- scribed for limiting'the outward movement ali'for-tlie objects specified.

'-of said. drawer,

.FR'ANK rooTaf-L ALoNzo, M. Lumen,

adaptedjt'o recei've afcigar' secured at its'central portion within the cas- ,throughthesiotzof platefitiand passesdown- "-ingandhavingits" ends crossingeachother Ward until it is stopped by the latch 46.- Plate cated beneath 'thedelivery end of said belt, 

